God's Grace
by alaskanbirdfriend
Summary: What if Sam's body had never been rescued by Castiel, and Dean had been living without Sam for 18 months? What if Sam was brought out of the cage by God? But Sam's soul is severely damaged. Healing would take years in a coma, so there's another solution. A bit of God's grace could heal him. Because, after all, if angels have grace, why shouldn't God?
1. Chapter 1

Chuck could hear a small voice, human and in pain, through all the prayers he got. Screams were heard in the background of the small voice, shaking with agony. He knew where it was. It came from far, far away. In the cage. In hell. He knew who had spoken.

Sam.

His favored son's vessel. He had jumped in the cage to save the world from destruction.

Chuck put his face in his hands. Of course, he had the power to raise him. To bring him out.

He appeared in Stull Cemetery. Where the fight had started and ended. He sighed. Lucifer, in a way, was right. This was a test. But not the one he thought. It was a test of free will.

He thought through his choices. He could leave it alone, and not do this. Just watch from behind a wall. The torture had been going on for years, down there.

Years of pain, years of agony. This wasn't the end. The leviathans. The trials. The falling of the angels. He had no idea if doing this would change anything. Maybe for the better.

Then he waved his hand.

A small, pulsing light appeared in his palm, resting there. Sam's soul. Staying strong, just for Dean. For his brother. But so close to breaking, so close to shattering. Chuck sighed again. While Sam and Dean might be similar to Lucifer and Michael, they didn't share the same brotherly bond. The connection that had been forged so deeply.

Chuck spoke to the soul. The poor, half-broken soul.

"Sam. I'm going to get your body back as well. Is that okay?"

While it wasn't possible for a soul to nod, he could tell its understanding of his words.

Sam's empty body materialized on the grass before him. It looked like it was in a coma. But it was far from that.

Chuck knelt down next to the body, cupping the soul in his hands, and pushed it inside. Sam's eyes flew open with a gasp.

Then there was something he noticed. Sam was trembling. Very slightly, but enough to notice. Sam was expecting endless agony. Torture after torture after torture.

Chuck slid into his vision. Sam scrambled back, then he hesitated.

"Wait, why would you be here? You were never here. What's going on?" His voice was shaking.

"Sam, you're not in the cage anymore," Chuck answered.

Sam snorted. "Really? I thought you were done with that trick a long time ago. What's wrong? Nostalgic?" Sam tensed, waiting for the bars of The Cage and hell to appear again. But Stull Cemetery stayed.

Chuck hadn't expected this.

"Sam. You really are out. I got you out." Sam laughed shakily and stumbled over to a tree nearby, leaning against it.

"Right. Let's say I go along with this because I don't think Lucifer would come up with something as creative as _Chuck_ rescuing me from Hell." His eyes widened. "Unless that's the point." He took a step back, trembling.

"I did rescue you. Now, would you listen to me?"

"No." He tried to take off running in the other direction.

"Sam." He waved his hand. He showed Sam The Cage, only Lucifer and Michael occupying itnow. Lucifer's rage and torment of having Sam gone. Michael's emptiness.

"How did you-" Sam stopped in his tracks and turned around. "Who _are_ you, really?"

Chuck smiled. "I'm God." Sam nodded slowly.

"Right. And, let's say you are God, and I believe you, why me?"

Chuck sighed.

He snapped his fingers, and a rickety wooden bench appeared next to them.

"Sit. I have a lot of explaining to do. Mainly on what happened in The Cage." Sam, still shaking slightly, walked over to the seat and sat down.

"Your soul has been damaged, countless times. I should have rescued you sooner." Chuck leaned forward and put his face in his hands.

Sam patted him on the back. "Hey, uh, Chuck. It's fine.

Chuck looked up and shook his head. "No, it's not fine. I brought you back, but I didn't heal you, not yet. You would eventually go insane from the memories of the cage."

Sam's eyes widened. "What? Why bring me back if...if eventually I'm going to go crazy?"

Chuck sat up and looked at the sky. "Because I can heal you." But Sam could hear the hesitation in his voice.

"But…?" He voiced.

"But, you would be in a coma for years. Or something similar to a Coma."

Sam's shock was evident. " _Years_? I would be in a coma for _years_?"

Chuck put his palms together, turning to look at him. "Sam, that might feel like a long time to you, but trust me, that is a blink of an eye."

Sam still looked worried. "Is there any other way?"

Chuck thought about it. Sure, creating a soul was easy. It happened every day, in every newborn. But healing one? What else could possibly work? Then he thought of something.

"Yes. My own grace."


	2. Chapter 2

Sam raised his eyebrows. "You have grace."

"Yes, I do. Mine is almost unlimited."

"I thought only the angels had grace."

Chuck nodded thoughtfully. "I can see why you thought that. But they are born from my grace, so they each have a small fragment of it."

"What about the archangels?"

"You're asking why they have more power than the others? They have more of my grace."

"I suppose that makes sense. But how would _your_ grace help _me_?"

"It would take time, but if you have it inside you long enough, it will merge with your soul. It would fill in the...broken pieces."

Sam shuddered. He didn't like the sound of his soul being close to shattered.

"My grace is very powerful. The angels are quite literally _made_ of grace, so they have no problem with it. You, however, if you took it all at once, would probably lead to an explosion of power that would shake the earth. You would have no control over it."

Sam paled. "Then what do I do?"

Chuck reached into his pocket and brought out a glass vial. It suddenly filled with shimmering smoke. Grace. God's grace.

"Keep this near you. I'm sure just being near it would help. It would heal you, but slower. Just remember to always be near it." Then he dropped it into Sam's palm.

Sam swallowed. "Okay."

Chuck nodded. "Then I'll send you on your way."

He waved his hand, and Sam materialized in front of Bobby's house.

Chuck exhaled. This is all he would be doing for a long time.


	3. Chapter 3

"Why would Chuck bring me here?" Sam thought. Then he remembered snapping Bobby's neck with his own hand. Well, maybe he hadn't done it, but either way, he had felt it.

He took out the grace he had put in his pocket. It seemed much more powerful than Anna's grace. It was brighter, and he could feel the warmth of it pulsing throughout his body. Healing him.

He walked over to the front door, twisting the door handle, and stepping in.

"Hello?" Sam called out. It seemed nobody was here-

Sam got slammed into a wall.

"What the Hell-"

Then he saw who had shoved him. Sam's eyes widened.

"Bobby?! Bobby, it's me!"

He could see that Bobby didn't trust a single word he said.

"My ass."

Bobby went for a silver knife that was lying on the table and dove towards Sam. A fight ensued, but eventually, Sam took the knife from Bobby.

"Bobby, it's me, okay? I'm alive!"

"You're a shifter or revenant. Nobody's got enough juice to boot you outta the cage. You ain't Sam."

Sam sighed. He probably should have expected this from Bobby, even if they had been resurrected multiple times.

"I was brought out, by someone very powerful. Besides, if I was either of those, could I do this?"

Sam held the knife that was clenched in his right hand close to his arm. He let out a sigh, then cut just below his elbow. Blood trickled down his arm.

Bobby frowned.

"How'd someone get you out? That cage was made by God himself."

Sam awkwardly scratched the back of his neck.

"Funnily enough, 'God himself' is the one who brought me back."

"Why'd he bring you back? I mean, he hasn't done anything before."

"He said because my soul was damaged. And it needed to be healed."

Bobby raised his eyebrows. "And I'm guessing God didn't just say that and run off; that he is 'healing your soul', or whatever."

"Yeah." Sam didn't want to talk about the grace, not yet. Then he thought of something. "Hey, do you know where Dean is?"

"Dean? I'm pretty sure Dean is right where you told him to be. With Ben and Lisa."


	4. Chapter 4

Well, that was a good thing. He had hoped that Dean would go back to them.

"I'm going to go visit them, and tell Dean I'm back." His eyebrows knit together. "I hope he's okay."

Bobby nodded. "I think he is. Probably would have never gotten over you being gone, though. You know where they live, don't you?"

"Yeah. We saw them once while we were hunting."

"You wanna use my car?"

Sam thought about the grace in his pocket. He could put that to use somehow, right?

"No, I'll… figure out a way."

Bobby raised his eyebrows. "And what, you're just gonna fly there?"

Sam almost laughed. It was pretty much exactly that. "I know a way."

Bobby looked uncertain, but he put his hand on Sam's shoulder. "Okay. I'll see you later then."

He nodded and stepped outside. Bobby was making coffee. It seemed so normal. But nothing was ever normal with the Winchesters.

Sam sighed and took the out the bottle of shimmering grace from his pocket. He could put this to some use.

The container was small but effective. The top and bottom were silver, with glass in the middle, so you could see the grace. It really was beautiful.

He closed his eyes. How was he going to do this? Tell it where he wanted to go? Sam looked down at the glowing mist.

"Uh, take me to Battle Creek, Michigan."

Nothing happened. Of course.

Sam hesitantly lifted his hand up to unscrew the cap. Chuck said that there would be a power explosion, but… that would be if he took all of it. What if…it was only a little bit?

Usually, when a container had grace inside, it would go directly to the owner. But what about now? There was no owner, except for maybe God. But he had given it to Sam.

Well, you can't know until you've tried, right?

He unscrewed the cap of the vial, letting only the smallest bit out. The smoky substance traveled towards Sam.

He inhaled the grace, taking it in.

He gasped, and his eyes glowed blue. Power coursed through his veins. The grace was getting used to his soul, and it was unsteady.

It would soon become dormant inside him, and wouldn't be activated until he had all the grace inside him.

Sam could feel wings at his back. They were faint, but they were there.

"Okay. Take me to Dean Winchester."

There was a pulling sensation at his back; he followed it, and he was gone.

He ended at the doorstep, quickly feeling the grace hide away. His eyes were no longer glowing a bright blue.

Sam pressed his finger on the doorbell, waiting for someone to answer. He could hear voices inside, overlapping each other.

"Who could that be? Can someone get the door?" Lisa.

"I'll get it! Take care of the food!"

Sam inhaled sharply. That was a familiar voice. Dean.

He could hear footsteps coming closer. Then the door opened.

Dean froze, his smile melting into shock. His eyes widened, and he whispered one word.

"Sam?"


	5. Chapter 5

Sam couldn't tell if Dean actually believed it was him, or if he was going to react like Bobby, swinging at him with a silver knife.

"Dean? What's going on-" Lisa turned the corner and noticed Sam standing there. Her worried expression morphed into one of surprise.

"Sam? But Dean told me you were-"

"Dead. Yeah, I was." Sam swallowed. This was a conversation that wasn't going to make any sense.

Lisa raised her eyebrows. "Right. Um, do you want to come in?"

Dean was still staring at Sam in shock. He coughed. "Hey, uh, Lisa? Can I talk with Sam alone, for a second?"

Lisa looked worried, but she agreed. "Okay. Just… your welcome to have dinner with us, if you want."

Sam acknowledged this, nodding in confirmation. She shut the front door and walked towards the kitchen.

Sam looked at Dean, bracing for some sort of fight. Instead, he hugged him.

"Man, how long have you been back?"

"Um, just now."

"Wait, how'd you get out of the cage? I mean, that was built by God, wasn't it?"

"Yeah, about that…" Sam glanced up, looking at Lisa through the window. "God… was the one who brought me back."

Dean raised his eyebrows. "Right. And, uh, why? I'm not saying that's a bad thing, I'm just saying…why now? I mean, he hasn't really helped before."

Sam didn't want to say that his soul was in ruins. He didn't want to see the pain and guilt on Dean's face, even if it wasn't his fault. Dean would think it was.

"He said that I needed…healing."

"Well, you look great. So, thank God for that."

Sam laughed. "Literally. Can I come inside?"

Dean patted Sam on the back, leading Sam in. "Yeah, why not? I'll admit, the conversation might be a little weird, considering I told them you were dead."

"Ha! I'm just glad to be back."

Dean smiled, looking back up at Sam. "Yeah, me too, Sammy. Me too."

 **How should Sam and Dean get back into hunting?** **Tell me in the** **reviews.**


	6. Chapter 6

Castiel could see lingering traces of immense power.

It started at Stull Cemetery, then hopped to Robert Singer's house. Then to Battle Creek, Michigan.

Castiel frowned. There was no visible pattern in those areas.

Both Sam and Dean had been to the first two places. But what of the third?

He had to go and take a look, flying over to where the last stop had been. Castiel didn't know if it would show up again.

He shifted planes, leaving the visible spectrum.

It was a warm night, and Sam and Dean were talking at the doorstep of a house.

Castiel gasped with shock, stepping forward.

Sam was alive? How was he brought back from the cage?

Dean didn't seem to have made a deal. There was no contract written on him. A demon probably wouldn't have been able to free Sam, anyways.

Then who could have brought him out of the cage?

Sam and Dean were talking freely, laughing together. Both had missed the other.

But Castiel looked closer, peering inside, close to Sam's soul. Although it seemed dormant and small, there was grace in Sam. Normally, when an angel possessed someone, they left a bit of grace inside the vessel.

But this was no grace of Lucifer.

It held much more power, even at a quieter, more dormant stage than any archangel.

Who could have given Sam this type of power? Only one person had the strength to-

God. That was the only answer. God had brought Sam out of the cage, and God had given Sam his grace to heal.

Because Castiel could see now, that the grace was latching on to the poor soul of Sam Winchester.

The poor, ragged soul, that was barely on the edge of collapsing.

The grace was filling in the scars. Filling in the wounds. Helping it breathe, helping it live.

Sam and Dean had wandered inside, when they had finished talking, to where Lisa and Ben were.

Castiel couldn't alert anyone of his findings of Sam. He doubted angels would not come for him.

Castiel trusted them, they trusted Castiel. Working only with Sam and Dean…that might be the best.


	7. Chapter 7

Sam walked through the front door, Dean leading the way inside. All the rooms were neatly furnished, and the smell of food wafted through the open air. He really felt at home.

"We never got a place like this! How is it, anyways?"

Sam was looking all around, amazed. He was so used to moving from place to place, motel to motel, with all the hunts and the recent near-apocalypse. He had his hands in his pockets and he felt more relaxed than he did in the past few months. The apocalypse had taken a toll on both of them.

"It's great! Lisa and Ben, they're awesome. Let me tell you about that time, Ben accidentally…"

Dean talked about his time with them. They were at the table now, and Lisa was helping put the food on the table. He seemed so happy, so calm.

"...Oh, you should have seen Lisa's face! Ben and I were laughing so hard! We used the same prank that you had pulled after that one hunt in Michigan, do you remember?"

Sam turned towards Dean, recalling everything that had happened there. "Oh, yeah. I can't believe you didn't know I had done it until I told you!"

Lisa finally sat down, shooting a glance at both of them.

Sam looked her, raising his eyebrows. "Where's Ben?"

"Oh, he's upstairs. Sometimes he eats while doing his homework. It's fine with me."

Dean laughed. "I've caught him trying to manage something similar to a three-course meal up there."

She rolled her eyes and turned to Sam. "I'll say, I didn't expect you, of all people, to show up. Dean told me you were...dead?"

Sam coughed, looking awkward. "Uh..yeah. Technically. I mean, sort of. Sure." She narrowed her eyes at him in confusion, looking for clarification. "Yeah. I was...dead."

Lisa nodded slowly, motioning for Dean to pass the salad bowl to her. "So, how did you come back?"

Sam watched Lisa with a look of surprise on his face. "Wait, no 'that's not possible' or 'you're insane'?"

She shrugged, a concentrated expression on her face. "Well, after learning monsters are real, it kind of ruins the surprises."

He snorted. "Then get ready for one of the biggest surprises of your life. God brought me back."

Lisa almost spat out her drink. Sam was right. That was...surprising. "God?"

He wore a tight-lipped smile on his face and nodded. "Himself."

"Wow. Well, then. I'm going to...eat."

That made Sam laugh. It felt like a reaction Dean would have. When in doubt, eat. They dug into the food, chattering aimlessly. Different types of dishes were passed around the table, with an occasional "thank you" to go along with it.

Sam suddenly had a prickling feeling on the back of his neck, and his head flashed to look through the window, peering into the front garden. No one was there.

"Sam? Are you okay?" Dean's concerned voice brought him back to the present.

"What? Yeah, I'm fine. I just...felt like someone was watching, that's all." His eyebrows knit together in confusion and suspicion. "I don't know. Probably my mind playing tricks on me." He laughed, turning back to his food in the hopes that the others would as well. They followed his lead, however nervous they were.

They finished up soon after that, and his worry and anxiety over that moment had quickly faded.

Lisa yawned, rubbing her eyes. "I'm going to turn in for the night. Sam, you can crash here if you want. We've got a guest bedroom. Dean...go to bed anytime you want. Just don't wake Ben up, okay?"

Dean laughed quietly and patted her softly on the shoulder. "Yeah. I'll wait with Sam for a bit. You know, get moony-eyed at the stars, tons of chick-flick moments, all that."

She rolled her eyes and smiled, walking sleepily up the stairs and into her bedroom.

Dean watched her go and followed to where Sam had gone a few minutes earlier to look at the stars.

"I'll be on the front porch. If you need me, find me there." Sam had told him, and Dean agreed to meet him there once Lisa went to bed.

Dean walked out to the front porch. Then he cursed and pulled out his phone, dialing Bobby's number.

"Bobby? You there?"

A gruff voice answered, "Dean? That you there? Boy, why haven't you called in over a year, I've been leavin messages and you've been saying nothin-"

Dean swore. "Screw that, Bobby. I've got news. Sam's vanished, and I have no idea where he's gone."


End file.
